Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), mildly toxic substances which are commonly used in the construction of semiconductors, were first discovered in shallow South Bay groundwater near Intel facilities in 1979. It was soon discovered that another manufacturer, Fairchild, had released enough toxic material to threaten 100,000 Bay Area homes. In addition, in 1981, 300 gallons of toxic material leaked from underground Hewlett-Packard (HP) storage tanks. These incidents sparked a considerable amount of local environmental activism, corporate clean-up efforts, and searches for other contaminated areas.
Since 1979, the EPA has identified 29 “National Priority List sites—the sites eligible for financing from the Superfund, a federal cleanup program for abandoned toxic sites—” in the Bay Area, many of which are still being cleaned up (WSJ). Today, “Santa Clara County has 23 [superfund sites], the most in the nation ahead of Pennsylvania's Montgomery County, which has 17 such sites, according to the EPA.” (WSJ) Among current superfund sites include those caused by AMD, HP, and Intel.
Cleaning up a superfund site is expensive and time-consuming. AMD paid approximately $2.7 million between 2004 and 2009 cleaning up three groundwater contamination sites in Sunnyvale. Applied Materials has spent “hundreds of thousands” for cleanups in recent years, and Intel has paid amounts a company spokesperson described as “substantial.”
Due to the off-shoring of semiconductor manufacturing, the rate of new superfund site creation in the Bay Area has slowed since the boom of semiconductor manufacturing in the 1970s and 1980s. However, the costly effort to clean up past mistakes continues unabated and the superfund sites still remain as witnesses of one unintended consequence of the digital age.
"Toxic-Waste Sites Haunt Silicon Valley." Wall Street Journal Online. Marie C. Baca. July 15, 2010. <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111704575355212354653420.html>
Since 1979, the EPA has identified 29 “National Priority List sites—the sites eligible for financing from the Superfund, a federal cleanup program for abandoned toxic sites—” in the Bay Area, many of which are still being cleaned up (WSJ). Today, “Santa Clara County has 23 [superfund sites], the most in the nation ahead of Pennsylvania's Montgomery County, which has 17 such sites, according to the EPA.” (WSJ) Among current superfund sites include those caused by AMD, HP, and Intel.
Cleaning up a superfund site is expensive and time-consuming. AMD paid approximately $2.7 million between 2004 and 2009 cleaning up three groundwater contamination sites in Sunnyvale. Applied Materials has spent “hundreds of thousands” for cleanups in recent years, and Intel has paid amounts a company spokesperson described as “substantial.”
Due to the off-shoring of semiconductor manufacturing, the rate of new superfund site creation in the Bay Area has slowed since the boom of semiconductor manufacturing in the 1970s and 1980s. However, the costly effort to clean up past mistakes continues unabated and the superfund sites still remain as witnesses of one unintended consequence of the digital age.
"Toxic-Waste Sites Haunt Silicon Valley." Wall Street Journal Online. Marie C. Baca. July 15, 2010. <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111704575355212354653420.html>
